I and Love and You
by Joie23
Summary: He didn't believe in good. He didn't believe in people. He didn't believe in love. No one taught him how.


Damon Salvatore was a non-believer. When he was a kid he learned not to trust anyone but himself. That was his only rule. For him, trust was a lie. He did not believe in relationships and obligations. He often thought it was stupid to expect any sort of happy relationship in a world full of hatred. He was arrogant and selfish, unable to feel anything more than contempt for other people. He wasn't ashamed of his sarcastic and childish attitude. Eventually, people learned to stay away from him. That only reinforced his disdain for the world. Damon Salvatore was a non-believer. He didn't believe in good. He didn't believe in people. He didn't believe in love. No one taught him how.

Everything started to change when he met _her_. They accidentally bumped into each other because he wasn't looking where he was going. Of course, he immediately blamed it all on her. He really wanted to pick a fight with someone. He was shocked when she apologized for being „so clumsy" and smiled cheerfully. He decided he didn't like her. But her smile, which seemed so honest, has remained in his memory for so long that it actually started to torture him.

She was everywhere. She would eat breakfest in a small diner where he would buy coffee. She would study in the part of the library where he would usually take his afternoon nap. She washed her clothes in "his" laundry service. She was even at the tutor centre when he came to seek help with English. And she always had that damn smile on her face. She would laugh loudly at the girl who was sitting across from her at the diner. She would smile thankfully at the salesperson of the laundry service when he exchanged her paper money for coins. When he came to ask for a tutor, she offered him a kind smile. It annoyed him so much.

She became his tutor, of course. He thought he would not be able to survive few hours a week with her. But then he got to know her. She was open and very honest. When he realized that she wasn't able to tell lies, he started to respect her. Her smile wasn't so annoying anymore. She was always very patient and it seemed like she took his heavy sarcasm for granted. After a whole month of tutoring, he realized she was the first person to stick around him for so long. Only then he started to be more open with her. Soon, he no longer needed tutoring. She was an excellent teacher. They continued to hang out regularly anyway. Her smile didn't annoy him anymore.

When she told him her biggest childhood secret, they became friends. When he admitted that she was his only friend, he found himself thinking he wanted to be more than just friends with her.

When he kissed her for the first time, he started to like her smile. When she confessed that she was sick again, he realized she was the most important person in his world. He realized that he fell in love with that smile. He realized that she was the good in this world. He realized that he believed in people again, because she believed in him. He realized that he believed in love. She had taught him how.

A few months before her death, she showed him the list of things she wanted to do before she dies. She made that list when she was sick for the first time. She wanted to change someone's world, she wanted to marry the love of her life, she wanted to become a mother, she wanted to bring back a smile to someone's face. She wanted to die in the arms of the love of her life.

She asked him to marry her. She told him that he was the love of her life. He fulfilled her wish but not before making sure she knew that she was the love of his life too. He told her how much she changed his world. He told her she was his hero because she saved him from drowning in misery. He told her how sorry he was for not being able to give her a child and he made sure she knew she was the reason for his smiles. He told her how happy he was that life has given him an opportunity with her and how he was glad he didn't ruined it. She said she never doubted him.

She died in his arms. Her last smile was so beautiful that it hurt. But she was finally free of any pain. He promised her he wouldn't keep her ashes so he spilled it at the beach, toward the horizon. She flew with the wind to the place where the sky and the sea meet like old friends after a lifetime of being apart. To a better world.

„ Until we meet again, sweet Caroline, teach the angles how to smile."


End file.
